Teaching Baby Sign Language
When little Titus was 12 mos. old, he finally started signing to me! I was so excited when I saw his little hands form together to tell me “more”! Signing with baby is so important to me. I taught signing to Jada and Titus as infants, and I plan on teaching baby Xia when she is old enough as well.
At 10 mos. old Jada was able to tell me when she was hungry, when she wanted milk, when she wanted something (please), when she needed help (leading to a lot less frustration!), and when she wanted more of something. Imagine being able to empower your baby with the gift of communication! No more crying for their needs, no more whining for their wants. No more frustration on your part or theirs due to lack of understanding. I’m telling you, it is wonderful being able to communicate to your child before he develops verbal speech.
One of the myths of teaching babies sign language is that they will not develop verbal language skills. But studies have shown, and I can tell you from personal experience, that this is far from the truth! There are many proven benefits to teaching your baby sign language.
Baby’s who sign (generally):
- Speak earlier than non-signing babies
- Experience less frustration- less tantrums and tears
- Are much happier babies
- Develop significantly larger vocabularies
- Become better readers
- Have IQ’s that are at least 10-12 pts. higher
- Show more advanced language skills
The recommended age to begin teaching baby to sign is around 8 months. Some children do pick it up this early. Others may take a few months, but believe me, if you continue teaching they will begin to copy your motions and associate them with their meaning.
Some good signs to begin with are milk and more. Others I would recommend are: drink, sleep, help, hurt, please, all done, and wet (for diapers). Of course, these are just basic words that baby would need to better communicate his needs to you. And you don’t have to stop there; once baby has learned a few signs, he can begin to form sentences like, “More milk, please.”
Here is a good website I found with a visual demonstration of some signs. There are many good resources out there to teach you some common signs. Another good one that I really like is Baby Einstein: My First Signs DVD
Here are some lesson tips to help you get started:
Teaching “milk”: When it’s time to feed baby his milk, before you give it to him say “Milk, milk”, and show him the sign. Then as baby begins to drink say it again, “milk, milk”, and make sure he can see your hand signing this again. Do this every time you give him milk! Every time you say the word “milk” show him the sign. Repetition is key.
Teaching “more”: Sit your baby down to a snack that he really enjoys, but just give him a little bit. Place the food container within baby’s sight. When he runs out of food, and obviously would like some more, ask him, “Do you want some more…more?” and show him the sign. Then give him a little more snack and say again, “More…more” showing him the sign repeatedly. Do this a few times in one sitting. Do the same thing every day. The more he sees you doing the signs, the faster he will begin to do it himself!
(Note: make sure that you don’t cause your baby to become frustrated. This will only discourage him. Don’t make him sign before you give him a snack until he has displayed the ability to do so.)
Teaching “please”: This is a good one to stop all of that undesirable whining! When baby drops something, and starts to point and whine, show him the sign for please and tell him, “Say please…please.” Keep showing him the sign and saying the word. Then take his hand and help him do the sign. Immediately after you have made his hand do the sign give him his desired toy, and tell him, “Good job! Please…please!” And repeat the sign again. Do this every time he whines for something, and before long he will begin signing “please” instead!
You can do this yourself. You don’t have to sign yourself and baby up for some expensive baby signing class! Check out a good sign language book from the library, buy one used on ebay, look around on the internet. The key is teaching baby to associate the sign with the meaning of the word through repetition, and positive reinforcement!
Oh Thats wonderful! I had wanted to teach my boys sign for a while and had actually hoped to do it with my youngest. Unfortunately, I couldnt find a good resource for teaching babies. Thanks!
We taught our kids sign. What a wonderful difference!! We have kept up teaching them and have picked up a few of the “Signing Times” DVDs. They don’t have one for teaching your baby to sign… Maybe I can suggest it to them.
Thankfully we knew enough sign to teach our little ones the basics, starting around a year old.
Thanks to Sara, I knew some basic signs when Logan was born. I used the Baby Einstein when he was little, and he had them down quickly. Unfortunately, since he had been vaccinated, he was slow at verbal language, so having sign was imperative.
I ended up signing up for a college class (continuing ed) recently, and I’ve loved learning more vocabulary and teaching them to L, even though he’s talking fine now. The class was only 60 bucks at my local community college. I’ll be signing up for the advanced class this fall, because I have to keep ahead of him! This will also qualify as his second language when he’s homeschooling.
Mandie,
That’s so great that you are learning so much and teaching Logan! I had no idea sign language would qualify as a second language. Very cool!
I love baby sign, and with baby number four, it has been amazing. She picks them up SO fast! She was signing for milk long, long before she was talking. I completely agree that babies who learn sign language talk faster than babies that don’t. You can watch it with each new sign she learns — before long, she is saying it as she signs.
Another great resource we have come across is “My Smart Hands Baby Sign Dictionary.” It is an app for Android phones (I imagine there is an iPhone one, too), with videos for each sign. There is a free version with the basics, and for $5 you can get the full version with somewhere around 300 signs in it. With the use of that app, baby’s vocabulary has just exploded! She likes to hold my phone and watch the video to learn new signs.
Have LOVED signing with my kiddos! It’s been such a blessing — our 1 year old is signing more. Enabling our kids to communicate makes all of our lives more pleasant!
Looking forward to doing more of this w/my own munchkins!
When I taught school, I used sign language with the kids in my class — so great to be able to give them instructions from a distance w/o making a sound!
Love to see people teaching their children to sign! I’ve been a sign language interpreter for 25 years and started signing with my kiddos from birth. I would say the word, show the concrete object and signed; then moved their hands in an approximation of the sign. Worked great!
Baby sign language is the best. I am a certified Sign Language interpreter and it is AMAZING how teaching your child sign languasge opens up different avenues in the brain. It also helps with the frustration part of communication. ASLPRO.com is a good resource.
Just think when your kids meet someone Deaf they will be able to communicate. It is amazing seeing Deaf children interact with hearing children.
I have a nephew who was born fourteen and a half weeks early. Because of his prematurity he sustained some brain damage and developed CP. He was learning delayed in several areas including speech. My sister taught him some basic signs and it opened him up to the idea of being able to communicate his needs and wants. He has always loved music and would sign for it. He especially liked to listen to it as he fell asleep. One day he was signing furiously for music. My sister asked him if he wanted to listen to music and go to sleep. He was so pleased and relieved that he had communicated this. And so was my sister! It wasn’t long after this that he began learning to use his verbal skills. We could see a very clear link between sign language and verbal speech.
That is so awesome, M.J. Thank you for sharing that story
How very encouraging!
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